Discuss - Ep #0202

[MagnusTrask]

I think the writing and acting have been perfect for making Willie seem like a dangerous coiled spring, which is exactly what they were going for.  That's exactly how Willie started.  Later, of course, we get to hear both actors' reading of the same crossover scene, and Karlen seems too subdued.   

[spoiler]It's almost as if someone knew they had the perfect actors for pre and post-crypt, but no actor perfect for both, and decided to use both actors.   I doubt it, but still...  The perfect crossover between Willies, then, would have been when Barnabas reaches up to strangle him... then reaching up another foot or so, and reshaping his face entirely, while he's in the neighborhood![/spoiler]

[IluvBarnabas]

There are differences between James Hall's and John Karlen's interpertations of Willie. No question about that. But  [spoiler] Willie was still a number one creep when JK starts portraying him. I agree that Karlen portrayed Willie's sinister personality a bit more subtle like than Hall did, but I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing. In a way I think it's that more quietly menacing quality in Karlen's perfomance that makes his Willie superior. Don't forget it's Karlen's Willie who threatens Burke with a knife at the Blue Whale, threatens to kill him after licking his wounds. Willie is still a mean, vicious hothead. [/spoiler]

I don't want to take anything away from Hall, he DOES play the mean-tempered, violent little prick quite well.
But [spoiler] not sure if this should qualify as a spoiler, but I'll treat it as one anyway...while I believe John Karlen would have portrayed Willie the creepy, would-be potential rapist/assailant just as well as, maybe even better than Hall, I still don't think James would have been as convincing as the broken-spirited, beaten-down servant of Barnabas the vamp [/spoiler]

Of course we'll never know though.

[Lydia]

What strikes me about James Hall is that he has some trouble remembering his lines.  Put him together with Jonathan Frid, and you could have a lot of awkward silences.

[MagnusTrask]

Perhaps they should start calling it 19 years that Liz has been a high-priced shut-in.   Maddening to be able to see what brands are on tap at the Dead Whale... almost.  No microbrews then though.  So Willie was in South America too.  Does this mean that the line about sending a letter from Tierra del Fuego was true?   If so, I picture Jason and Willie on a ship that was just about to "'round the Horn" (Cape Horn), and they decided at the last minute that there was no profit in getting killed, and jumped ship.

[Janet the Wicked]

What strikes me about James Hall is that he has some trouble remembering his lines.  Put him together with Jonathan Frid, and you could have a lot of awkward silences.

OMG! He's awful! I don't even care what happened to this "actor" after Dan Curtis fired his ass.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

I knew that the Sci-Fi Channel - or rather a certain representative from DCP - occasionally cut things out of the eps so SFC could run more commercials, but I never realized anything was cut from this ep until I was just picking out screen caps for Robservations. The scene between Carolyn and Jason in the study ends very shortly after they stand up. None of the stuff from when they walk over to the door, or Carolyn leaves, or Jason is in the room by himself is to be seen. And not that it's really important stuff, but still.

The interesting thing is that during the show's first run on Sci-Fi they went out of their way to promote how DS was being shown unedited. But apparently that was strictly for that first run because my tapes are from the second run - and I definitely have eps that were cut or manipulated in other ways. And one has to wonder if DS ever does appear on TV again, will the unedited eps be shown or the "new and improved" eps?

[alwaysdavid]

I noticed on the slate that there were four  number 67's on the opening slate. Episode, year, tape and air dates. This Willie, terrible actor that he is, does seem dangerous. I keep thinking that he watched a James Dean movie and thought he could do that. How long have Jason and Willie been together? There's a feeling like they met in some Latin American prison cell and cooked up this scheme.  Willie just doesn't seem the type to be in on a scam where you need to have patience and a low profile. 

[Watching Project]

The Robservations caps for this ep (including two from the missing portion of Sci-Fi's version of the study scene) have been posted.